Suspension Bridge

The weekend away was a good one. It’s nice to recharge once in awhile and do something out of the norm. If you need a little excitement in your day, check out our video from the hike! Crossing the Drift Creek Suspension Bridge:

Pretty scary bridge, huh? It was the first time we really used our new GoPro camera so it’s been a fun learning experience.

QUESTION: Would you be able to cross that bridge?

Because I love the beach so much, I wanted to share a few more photos. Here are some outtakes from last weekend:

I left off at our arrival at Drift Creek Falls. We geared up and headed down the trail for a hike. The hike was through an old growth forest with lots of nice views. The path was easy and not rocky or too muddy. We both remarked at how interesting it was that the hike started by going downhill. I can’t think of a hike I’ve done where I went downhill first.

The trail was surprisingly busy considering it was in the middle of nowhere and we had to drive on a single lane, rustic road to get there. But it wasn’t too crowded that it was unpleasant. We were passed by a pair of trail runners, too. It was the perfect trail run too.

The day was sunny and warm. Once we got started on the hike, Michael took my hand in his and said very carefully: “I have something to tell you and I don’t want you to freak out.” Oh my god what?! He went on to tell me that we were going to be crossing the longest suspension bridge in the Northwest. WHAT!

I’m kind of afraid of heights–more of scary cliffs and falling. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it across the bridge but I was willing to try. I was scarrrred!

Okay, DEEP BREATHE.

Michael went first. I walked slowly onto the bridge and realized: suspension bridge = the bridge MOVES. Duh. That was mildly frightening. It swayed as I walked. I glanced to the sides but tried not to look because I knew I’d freak out and never make it across if I looked too closely.

I made it! Michael was waiting for me at the other side. We hiked down the trail to the creek below to check it out.

Then we headed back up the trail. Crossing the bridge to get back was a tad easier for me. I still didn’t really look down!

The hike back was uphill but not overly strenuous.

Hike Stats:

Time: 1:25

Calories Burned: 297

Mileage: About 3

It was a GREAT hike! I would definitely do it again. When I got back to the car there was another clue waiting for me:

Hmmmm…where could we be going? Michael navigated and I drove down the single lane road back to 101. The destination? THE BEACH!

We arrived at Lincoln City, one of my favorite beaches in Oregon, and we checked into the hotel. We had a private balcony with a view of the ocean. Perfect!

We went to the restaurant next to the hotel for a late lunch (that ended up being dinner too). I got a glass of the Oak Knoll Pinot Noir (earthy and strong). We had a view of the ocean and shared two appetizers: crab cakes and calamari with freshly baked bread.

The food was pretty good. The crab cakes were made out of cornbread crumbs I think. We enjoyed a leisurely meal and discussed what to do next. I was dying to walk on the beach!

The cold that I had been fighting off for four days was full-fledged by this time but I was trying to work through it. I wanted to enjoy the weekend no matter what! We headed down to the beach for a walk in the sunshine.

The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day but WINDY. We started walking North on the beach, into the brutal wind, and it was a hard walk. Not the best of conditions but I love the beach so much I was willing to do it!

Eventually we turned around and walked back to the hotel. It was just too windy to keep going. The wind was cold despite the sunny weather. We relaxed at the bonfire area that the hotel had. It was cool: there were about half a dozen private bonfires with benches and you could buy a s’mores kit in the lobby (we didn’t but it would have been fun).

We decided to go back to the room to chill for a few minutes. The plan was to head up to Chinook Winds Casino for the evening. They were having a fireworks show for their 16th anniversary and that was going to be our evening. We were lounging in the room when I started to feel sick. 🙁

It was bad. My stomach was in knots. I had horrible cramping and I ended up getting violently ill. Saturday night was NOT fun. I was pretty sick so we stayed at the hotel and just listened to the ocean. We could see the sunset — which was nice — and we saw some of the fireworks up the beach from Chinook Winds. It was a disappointing ending to a wonderful day, that’s for sure! 🙁